TPC Track Visualization Using a Camera Readout for Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay

One of the greatest unanswered questions in our universe is the generation mechanism for matter-antimatter asymmetry. One solution is that the neutrino is a Majorana particle, or that it is its own antiparticle. The best way to observe this would be the direct observation of neutrinoless double beta decay, a process in which an isotope undergoes simultaneous beta decays without the emission the electron antineutrinos. The Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC (NEXT) is an electroluminescence (EL) TPC searching for this decay, using gaseous ¹³⁶Xe as both the decay and detection medium. The main difficulty in observing this decay is the half-life; in ¹³⁶Xe, the leading limit is 1.07e26 years, set by KamLAND-Zen. This decay rarity, coupled with radiogenic and cosmogenic backgrounds, necessitates development of new techniques to maximize search potential. One technique under investigation by NEXT is a topological readout using an external camera setup. This removes the SiPM readouts from the detector interior and the need for wavelength shifting chemicals, eliminating a substantial source of radioactive background and improving track resolution. This presentation shows, for the first time, the direct observation of alpha, beta, and muon EL tracks using a VUV image intensifier coupled to a high QE camera. This is the first in a series of demonstrators being built at the University of Texas Arlington and Argonne National Lab.